On the other side of the Miss Texas/Teen Texas pageant competition, Faith Bates, Miss Fort Worth, won Miss Talent while Miss Grapevine, Ashley Melnick, was Miss Swimsuit.

Previous preliminary winners in the Miss Teen Texas competition are Madison Fuller of Plano and Micayla Merrifield of Hurst-Euless-Bedford for talent and Taylor Lowery of Frisco and Reilly Johanssen of Ellis County in physical fitness.

In the Miss Texas prelims, Miss Texarkana Adrianna Nelson and Miss North Texas Kristen Blair have been selected in the talent division and Miss Frisco Kathryn Dunn and Miss Harris County Kira Morris in the swimsuit division, according to the pageant's Web site.

Miss Hunt County, Christie Ward of Hale Center, and Miss Lubbock, Bailey Jo Miller, are competing in the Miss Texas Pageant while Evan Johnson of Floydada is representing the Amarillo Area in the Miss Teen Texas Pageant.

The finals are scheduled for 8 p.m. Friday. The event will not be televised.

The Miss Texas Pageant is a preliminary to the Miss America Pageant.

Thirty-seven contestants from around the state are competing in five areas of competition: private interview, talent, evening wear, on-stage question and physical fitness in swimwear.

The contestant who receives the highest cumulative score earns the title.